When the Curtain Rises
by scarlettwriter11
Summary: What went down before Sherlock arrived at the pool? How did John come to have explosives strapped to his chest, with snipers aiming to kill? And did Moriarty perhaps have a little chat with the doctor beforehand? When the Curtain Rises...suggested by a lovely person on Tumblr.


**A/N: So, I was having trouble coming up with a good Sherlock fic, and so I asked on Tumblr if anyone could give me a good prompt. And so this one person suggested I do a scene with John and Moriarty before the pool scene in "The Great Game". I thought it was a really great idea and i started working on it right away. I rewatched the episode, took notes on Moriarty, (because I've never written him before), and about, six or so hours later, I came up with this. So, I hope you enjoy it. I had a lot of fun doing and I want to thank the lovely person who suggested it to me!**

* * *

What was Sarah going to think of all this? Things had been going very smoothly since the whole, Chinese gangster incident. Now this. Well, missing a date was the least of John's problem at the moment. Because currently, he was kneeling in a cold room with a cloth sack over his head, his hands tied behind his back.

It was when he was hailing a cab that the sleek black car had pulled up outside of 221B. John's initial thoughts were, _Oh Jesus, what did Sherlock do now to have Mycroft send a car round? It must be something to do with the memory stick or something. Damn him_. But when he got into the car, he was greeted not by the constant typing of fingers on a Blackberry, but by a shadowy faced man in a dark suit. Before John could say a word, he was being knocked over the head with a blunt object, and everything faded into darkness, until he awoke in his current position.

John heard echoing footsteps on what seemed like a tiled floor. That would explain why the floor was so cold and smooth. Where am I? he thought, just as the sack was removed from his head and he was revealed to be in a dimly lit locker room, the same man in the dark suit standing over him.

"What the hell is this about? Who are you? Where am I? Are you working for Moriarty?" John demanded but the man merely smiled at him and with a flick of his fingers, two other men came striding forward out of the dark recesses of the locker room, carrying a large, fluffy jacket and judging by how one of the men clenched something in his fist, a smaller object as well. They both knelt down beside John and proceeded to untie John and strap a vest carrying an impressive amount of explosives while wiring a hearing device onto John. John's heartbeat quickened as he realized what was happening. _Sherlock, what have you gotten yourself into now?_

As a final touch, the man who had been holding the fluffy jacket, wrestled him into the stifling garment. John, for an instant, thought this might be his chance to run, but the thought quickly dashed away when the dark suited man pointed a handgun at his head. Another smile flashed across his face and John let out a shuddering breath. Never before had guns been pointed at his head so many times in such domestic settings, not until he met Sherlock Holmes.

"Doctor Watson. Sherlock Holmes's live-in. How charming." A high pitched voice reverberated off the tiled walls. A figure slowly appeared beside the dark suited man, dressed equally as impressive, if not more, in his navy suit and tie. John's eyes widened as he recognized the face of the man.

"_You._"John breathed as he stared into the face of Jim from I.T. Jim, Molly's supposed 'gay' boyfriend. Jim, who had left Sherlock his number. He had slipped right out from under their noses. _If only Sherlock were here…_

"Me," Moriarty smiled, his eyes fixated on John. "That's all for now boys. Go to your posts." The three men retreated and John heard a door close shut as they exited the locker room. "Thank you for not running. That would have ruined all the fun." Moriarty leered, starting to pace a slow and steady circle around.

"Fun? You call strapping bombs to innocent people fun?" John spat angrily. Moriarty made throaty a noise of disgust.

"Please, spare me your little moral speech Doctor. I'm more interested in your relationship with Sherlock."

"My, my, wha-? What are you on about?" Moriarty made quiet 'tsking' noises.

"Oh, you haven't figured it out yet? Well, I can't say I'm too surprised. You being, well, _boring_, and all." Moriarty drawled.

"Figured out what? What is this all about, why are you doing this?"

"Patience Doctor Watson, you'll learn soon enough. Now tell me," Moriarty stopped his pacing and stood directly facing John once more. "Why does the great Sherlock Holmes keep someone like you around for company? Mhm? Why does he keep someone so normal, so dull around, when he can have someone like me?"

* * *

"What are you talking about?" The doctor spat, looking so troubled. He amused Jim, he really did. He had fight in him, he could see it in his eyes. But that wasn't going to get him anywhere. Fight did you no good if you didn't have brains to back it up. And even then, if you were smart enough, you wouldn't have to do the fighting. All you would need was a good plan, and willing soldiers, and everything would carry out on its own. Like they were now.

"I'm talking about Sherlock. You're wondering why you're here, why am I doing this, blah, blah, blah. Well, I'll tell you one thing I admire about you. And that's only one thing Johnny. And that one thing is that you've managed to hold the attention of Sherlock for this long. The brilliant Sherlock. Isn't he just," Jim took a deep, exhilarated breath in. "Delicious?" The doctor just stared at him with this hard expression. Jim cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, do I detect a hint of jealousy, Doctor? Don't like me talking about your precious Sherlock, well you know what I think of that? I think, you don't deserve him." Jim licked his lips and took a couple steps closer to the doctor and squatted down in front of him. He drilled his stare into Watson's, licking his lips once more as he did so. Watson blinked, but didn't avert his gaze. Again, there was that silly fight. How precious.

"You know why I think you don't deserve him? Because, you're lowly. You can't possibly give him what I can."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" John said, his voice rich with emotion. Jim rolled his eyes and stood once more.

"Stimulation, my dear Johnny-boy. I can give Sherlock the best drug of all. He won't ever be bored again if he decides to stick with this little game we have going. There's just one more thing that I have to do in order to know if he's really onboard."

"What are you talking about?" John said, his voice rising. He was starting to get frantic. He must be thinking his sweet Sherly was in danger. Well, he was right to think that, but how adorable it was to see how hot and bothered he got when Sherlock was threatened. How, _predictable_.

"I'm talking about you!" Jim yelled suddenly. John looked taken aback for a moment. "You, and your, ordinary qualities! Do you know why you're here Johnny-boy? Because your precious Sherlock told me to be here. Something about missile plans, oh, you look surprised don't you?" Jim said with a manic smile as John's face fell, his eyes widening. Jim chuckled. "Yes, you're here because I am going to prove to your Sherlock that in order to play the game, he has to first meet my demands and let go of his weakness. Because if he doesn't, well, things are going to get so much worse for you and him, Johnny-boy. So much worse. And you won't be able to do a thing about it, and you know why?" Jim leaned down and stuck his face centimeters in front of John's, whispering. "Because, as Sherlock realizes how much he wants to play the game, he'll also realize he can't do it with you around. And you will slowly fade away and you'll no longer be his play-thing, because he'll have me! Do you see where I'm going with this Doctor? You'll be out of the picture regardless of what happens. You're just here for, insurance."

"I can stop you. I will." John growled. Jim stood straight and looked down at him with disdain.

"Aren't you just full of spirit?" Jim said with a bored tone.

"I will. I'll stop you Moriarty."

"No, I don't think you will. Here's one thing you will do though, John," Jim paused and stared down at the doctor, his eyes cold. "I think you know the drill by now, but just in case you've missed something, here's how this is going to work. That little earpiece, whatever you hear me say into it, you do it. I think you know what happens if you don't. And please, for the game's sake, for Sherlock's sake, don't try to run Doctor Watson. We want Sherly to have his fun, don't we? Now, get up. You'll need to know your offstage placement before the curtain rises."


End file.
